How to manage Stress?

Stress management with ayurveda

 

Let’s take a walk down memory lane - what’s the most stressful situation you have ever been in?

when you have already made a friend waiting for you for 45 minutes and are still stuck in traffic, 10 kilometers away from them?

When you had many meetings at work, along with strong client feedback reaching you on the same day?

 Of course, these situations can push you down mentally or even make you feel extreme anger or frustration, but these can be overcome. However, when such small botherations keep cropping up again and again, it may lead to lasting stress.

Ayurveda takes a holistic approach to mental stress and other mental health concerns. In this blog, we discuss Ayurvedic stress management strategies.

 

What is Stress?

Stress is a fairly universal element of the modern human experience, and while some stress is appropriate, even productive, we now know that too much stress can be quite harmful, and can compromise our health physically, mentally, and emotionally.

The human stress response is an evolutionary adaptation that has helped humans cope with moments of crisis through the ages. It occurs in response to danger in any form—whether a natural disaster, war, devastating emotional loss, or an encounter with a powerful predator.

To understand stress better, let us look at its primary causes and how it can affect our lives:

Causes of Stress:

• Overwhelming mental pressure
• Major challenges in life
• Being in worrisome situations
• Situations or their outcomes being out of our control
• Overwhelming responsibilities
• Monotonous life
• Lack of work, hobbies, or interests to keep you involved
• Experiencing discrimination or hate or abuse
• Traumatic experiences

Some of the unhealthy approaches that people may take for dealing with stress are:

Smoking

• Drinking
• Drug consumption
• Overeating
• Not looking after their health
• Oversleeping
• Aggressive involvement in sex, shopping, or other activities that make them overspend

 

How Stress Vitiates Doshas and Impacts the Health of Individuals

In the human body, stress levels are governed by three doshas‌ - Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. These three doshas influence an individual’s overall mental well-being. Let’s ‌understand how stress vitiates each dosha and creates an imbalance in the mind and body

 

• Vata has cold, mobile, and erratic qualities. Vata-aggravated stress reactions usually cause anxiety or fearfulness. The individual’s erratic and fast-paced thinking could lead to feelings of anxiety and fear. While fear and anxiety are natural reactions to stress, these can cause health issues like insomnia, hypertension, etc.

• Pitta symptoms mirror hot and mobile qualities. Pitta’s response to stress arises as anger, irritability, and impulsive behavior. The individual may also suffer from hypertension, heartburn, diarrhea, and other disorder.
• Kaphadosha has heavy, dull, and cold qualities. When these qualities increase in the body, Kapha’s response to stress can be seen as weight gain, depression, sluggishness, lack of energy, slow metabolism, and even increased blood sugar levels
   

Things You Can Do to Relieve Everyday Stress

 

Practicing yoga regularly

It helps you reduce your stress and anxiety levels. You can practice different yoga asanas for stress relief such as Matsyasana (Fish pose), Vrikshasana (Tree pose), Leg up the wall pose, and more. This helps release physical stress from different points in the body. Individuals can also practice Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) to relieve stress.

 

Practicing different breathing techniques, especially Pranayama

It not only helps reduce your stress levels but also improves immunity and develops more resilience to stressful events.

 

Making dietary modifications

Ayurveda recommends taking the Sattvic diet. Ideally, individuals should take help from an Ayurveda expert and follow a diet plan designed particularly for their body and lifestyle habits. Ayurveda emphasizes on consumption of whole foods, which can boost immunity and improve your overall health.

 

Practicing mindful eating

This means one needs to have a healthy relationship with food. This includes appreciating the food you eat, eating it slowly and without any distractions (like using mobile phones or watching TV), and avoiding eating when you are full.

 

Using pure Ayurvedic herbs

Potent herb like ashwagandha helps balance aggravated Vata and Kapha dosha. It is a wonderful stress reliever and supports the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of individuals when taken on a regular basis. The use of Brahmi, Cumin, and Turmeric is also beneficial.

 

Embracing Panchakarma procedures

Panchakarma procedures like Padabhagyam (massaging the feet using medicated oils) help you calm your mind and relieve stress caused due to modern life. These procedures calm the vitiated doshas, which is the root cause of the problem.

 

Getting a warm massage with Vata Oil

If you’re anxious and stressed, getting a warm, soothing massage with Vata Oil can help you destress. Maharishi Ayurveda Organic Vata oil makes a lovely abhyanga or stress relief oil for this purpose. This oil is enriched with pure extracts of Vata-pacifying herbs, that calm Vata, promote relaxation, and relieve stress.

 

Conclusion

Stress can be challenging to face and overcome. Ayurveda offers a wide range of suitable practices and remedies that may help ease stress and relax the mind in the long run. In this blog, we discussed Ayurveda and stress management‌. Hopefully, you found this helpful.

 

NOTE: The information in this article is intended for your educational use only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition and before undertaking any diet, supplement, fitness, or other health programs.